The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 (SH Act) remains the landmark legal framework for ensuring a safe and inclusive working environment. Covering all women across public, private, organized, and unorganized sectors—including domestic workers—the Act mandates the formation of Internal Committees (ICs) in workplaces with 10 or more employees. To strengthen monitoring and redressal, the Ministry of Women and Child Development (MoWCD) launched the revamped SHe-Box portal on August 29, 2024, as a single-window centralized digital platform for filing and tracking complaints securely. The framework emphasizes a zero-tolerance policy, with repeat violations of the Act potentially leading to the cancellation of business licenses or non-renewal.
Key Pillars of the Workplace Safety Framework
Institutional Redressal Mechanisms: Mandating Internal Committees (IC) for larger workplaces and Local Committees (LC) at the district level for the unorganized sector or smaller establishments.
Time-Bound Complaint Redressal: Requiring complaints to be filed within three months, with mandatory inquiry completion within 90 days to ensure prompt justice.
SHe-Box Digital Accountability: Utilizing a centralized repository to track the status of cases filed and disposed of nationwide, promoting long-term cultural change.
Mandatory Corporate Disclosure: Ensuring that the constitution of an IC is a mandatory disclosure under the Companies Act, 2013, following amendments to the Company (Account) Rules.
Strict Compliance Penalties: Implementing a fine of ₹50,000 for the first violation and doubling the penalty for repeat offences, alongside administrative sanctions.
What is the “SHe-Box Portal”? The SHe-Box (Sexual Harassment electronic Box) is a single-window digital platform launched by the Ministry of Women and Child Development to facilitate the registration of complaints related to sexual harassment at the workplace. It provides a secure, multi-lingual, and transparent environment for women to file complaints that are automatically forwarded to the relevant Internal or Local Committee. Crucially, the portal creates a national database that allows nodal officers to monitor the progress of inquiries and track the overall implementation of the SH Act across all sectors.
Policy Relevance
By institutionalizing the SHe-Box portal, the Ministry of Women and Child Development is transitioning from manual reporting to “Digital Oversight”, ensuring that the constitutional rights of women under Articles 14, 19, and 21 are protected in every workspace.
Strategic Impact:
Empowering the Unorganized Sector: The provision of Local Committees (LCs) ensures that domestic workers and women in small establishments have a formal pathway to justice that was previously inaccessible.
Driving Corporate Accountability: Integrating IC disclosures into the Companies Act elevates workplace safety to a core governance requirement for the private sector.
Reducing Re-victimization: DoPT advisories on timely inquiries and “special leave” for complainants help maintain the dignity of women during the redressal process.
Advancing Economic Participation: Strengthening workplace safeguards directly supports the goal of inclusive growth by removing safety-related barriers to women’s entry and retention in the workforce.
Relevant Question for Policy Stakeholders: How can the Ministry of Women and Child Development collaborate with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs to utilize the ‘Mandatory Disclosure’ data to identify sectors with high non-compliance and target them for inspections?
Follow the full news here: PIB: Safeguarding Women at Work
